Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the debate and commend Deputy Browne. As Deputy Connolly said earlier, we have many debates in the Dáil but, sadly, nothing has changed in many areas. The mental health report on Roscommon and Galway, which was promised in March, has gone on and on for months and months but has not been published. I spoke to the Minister of State earlier as to why it has not been published and she said it is coming near it, but it is a disgrace that it has not been published. Sadly, when we speak about mental health in the Roscommon area, we are closing the day care centres or trying to close them. I am being blunt about it and I am not blaming the Minister of State. The HSE is accountable to nobody. I speak to HSE people. They will tell people one story and do the complete opposite. It is unacceptable how they treat public representatives.

A simple change that needs to be done for people with mental illness is with regard to the fact that at present, if they need to be assessed, they must go to an accident and emergency department. We should have a system whereby they can go to any of the units and be assessed and not be put through 12 or 14 hours in an accident and emergency department.

There are hostels where people feel vulnerable. They do not feel they are able to live on their own, and in various counties at present they are being pushed to apply to the local authority for a house. It is a case of away with them and the community team will be sent out. In many places these community teams do not exist.

I say to all Deputies that we need to be careful and include safeguards. With regard to alcohol, which is sometimes intertwined, people may be trying to help somebody and their hands are tied at present. They cannot help them because every door is closed. I have seen it in my own family. I see it day in and day out.

People, including women and children and husbands, are beating their heads off the wall trying to help someone but there is nothing there to try to help that person who cannot see the situation he or she is in. Gardaí and doctors are afraid to touch anyone in the line of signing the forms or whatever to help people because of litigation. We need to do something. While some will talk about civil liberties and such, unfortunately some people cannot see the place they are in at a given time. We need to make sure we are helping them. I am not one of those who say everyone should be put away. I am not talking about that and people should not get that idea but I have seen myself, when one is trying to help someone, it is like fighting a tide the whole time in the health service, because it keeps saying that until a person is ready to do this, that or the other, it cannot do anything. Unfortunately, people have died because of that system.

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